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Ok here is the formal introduction of my meat bird project. The goal for my designer breed is to have vigorous, wild type dual purpose birds. Im using wheaten game hens and a Cornish Cross cockerel.
I got 2 game hens this past winter from a lady had them show up in her flock. She wanted them gone quick so I picked them up for a song. And a pair of CX for free as chicks, and kept around for the sake of having them.
I like my games because I have never had a problem with egg eating or feather picking, they lay a lot of eggs when they are not broody, game chicks are always vigorous, they are VERY ACTIVE foragers searching far and wide for bugs, they are very meaty for their size, and game hens make the best mothers of all the other breeds I have owned. However I dont like their aggressive nature. I caught one hen crowing last week, and I know she lays eggs. They are also too small for my liking. American games or utility cornish would be ideal sustainable chickens but I like single combs, large eggs, fast growth, and big birds.
I like the feed conversion and fast growth of broilers as well as their enormous size and carcass shape. They lay jumbo eggs, and are rather docile in nature. However, they are way more maintenance than any other breed of chicken available because they dont forage if they dont have to, preferring to sit in front of the feeder for easy meals. They lack the inherited immunity of wild birds. They have difficulty breeding naturally among other things
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Its pretty difficult to get a picture of my hens standing still
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1328/dsc00500td.jpg
My blocky little game
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4146/dsc00502k.jpg
The Cornish X pair. they are 5 months old. They are not as big as they could be becuase I keep them on a strict diet to keep them small and active.
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/6048/dsc00510n.jpg
Here's the cockerel giving it a try. he was kinda clumsy the hen was too small for him and gave up quickly. Maybe I'm getting fertile eggs because he figured it out once and not because I tried AI. I don't expect him to keep this up for very long.
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8694/dsc00508fl.jpg
I envision a bird that is single combed, 7-10 lbs birds, fast maturing, heavy breasted, naturally breeding, and exhibits wild characteristics. I equate wild with low maintenance. Im making a good sustainable breed for my homestead, and hopefully its economical as a meat bird for pasture production.
I havent decided on egg color. Games lay white and cream eggs, broiler lay light-medium brown. I figure I have enough on my list to select for to even worry about egg color. They should lay a good amount of eggs regardless of egg color.
Aesthetically, I want them to be tight feathered and built like a brick house. A large flowing tail would be nice, but might look weird on a heavy fowl. Im not sure where to go with plumage color yet, but I know I want them to be light colored for clean looking carcasses. I believe CX are dominate white to mask black, recessive white and/or silver to mask red. I was thinking of breeding the rec white/silver out, but keeping the dom white to produce a pyle wheaten color.
Thank you emc, an interesting project. May I ask where your "CX" [?] originally came from?
